BAY CITY, MI — Rather than go before a jury, a man has pleaded guilty to taking a stolen firearm off a Bay City teenager.

Salvador B. Ramos, 36, on Monday, July 15, appeared before Bay County Chief Circuit Judge Kenneth W. Schmidt and pleaded guilty to one count of attempted receiving and concealing a stolen firearm. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss single counts of receiving and concealing a stolen firearm and felony firearm, which carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of two years.

Schmidt is to sentence Ramos at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9.

Police began investigating Ramos on Dec. 31, when they were summoned to the South End home of Tamara L. Richardson, who claimed her .22-caliber Browning pistol was missing. Richardson told police her 14-year-old grandson had confessed to her that he stole the gun in July and given it to Ramos, his mother’s ex-boyfriend, court records show.

The teen’s mother told police she stopped dating Ramos in January 2012, but that he and her son kept in contact against her wishes, court records show.

“He said something about wanting to get a gun, and I told him that my grandmother had a gun,” the teen said, according to police reports contained in court records. “He then told me to steal the gun for him. I was afraid because he said if I didn’t steal the gun there would be consequences.”

The teen told police he broke into his grandmother’s home via a basement window, then took the gun and the case containing it. He said he took the gun to a nearby boat launch, where he hid it for a week or so before meeting up with Ramos and giving it to him in exchange for cigarettes, court records show.

In March, the teen changed his story, telling police he stole the gun without Ramos’ encouragement and that he did it just because he thought it would be cool, court records show.

A detective on March 15 interviewed Ramos, who said he loved the teen and took the gun off his hands so he wouldn’t hurt himself, court records show. Ramos said the teen texted him one day saying he had a gun and wanted to sell it or get some cigarettes for it. Ramos told the detective he met up with the teen and took the gun, but did not give the teen cigarettes or any form of payment.

Ramos kept the gun for a night or two, then tossed it into the Saginaw River, he told police.

Authorities issued a warrant for Ramos on April 11. They have also authorized a petition against the teen with three charges — larceny of a firearm, larceny in a building and felony firearm.